The real trouble is none of us know whether what we are paying for, be it 'Fake' for £100 or 'Real' for £800, is any good unless you personally test it. The real and the fake could be completely identical, the fake could actually be better than the real.

Most goods are made in Asia these days and the consumer expects a lot for very little and for some weird reason are surprised when they bought shit. China can make exquisite, safe, highly functional, long lasting goods but it comes at a price. But companys that buy from China want to make a massive profit or have high running costs so their mark up needs to be massive, which results in paying say £100 for something they sell for £800... so that 'Fake' item you paid £100 for may not be that bad after all.

I have found generally that chinese knock offs to be ok ,but they tend not to last as long and its a hit and mis affair to weather you get a good one or not .Example of that is an airbrush that is a copy of a very expensive one ,they are made in the same factory ,they look the same externally apart from the engraved name and the packaging ,but the knock off is a 10th of the price .From experience of these its a bit hit and miss with performance of the knock ,but with a little time and fettling they do the same job within my skill standard and if i drop the dam thing and it breaks its cheap enough not to worry . It is very difficult to spot knock offs these days .

If it was from the same factory... it was a likely a second or considered substandard... not a knock off or copy.

Big fancy brand not always best.
Looking at the Sharp helmet ratings the expensive helmets often do pretty badly.
Apple product prices are a joke, you can get similar spec kit at a fraction of the cost.

Funkycowie wrote:If it was from the same factory... it was a likely a second or considered substandard... not a knock off or copy.

Might be, but mot always
When you spec for Chinese factories you can specify material, method and finish even if you use the same moulds etc
So you can order identical products cast in the same moulds but half the order is hi-tech material with top notch fastenings/fixings and the other half is thrown together from left over paper plates

Same factory, but completely different products

ZOOM ZOOM GRANDAD1 wrote:Fake leathers are better than t shirts and shorts ,
I haven't got 3 or £400 for a jacket , so yes I would have a fake one .

Buy workwear boots and gloves. No VAT and volumes make them cheap.

Put money saved to decent motorcycle jacket and trousers.

'Fake' means that. Absolutely no guarantee of a quality level of protection to exceed that of a string vest and a studded thong...
with the studs on the inside.

I bought a fake Rolex in Singapore many years ago. It cost me £12. A mate of mine had the genuine article and to be honest from a few feet away you really couldn't tell the difference .
Whereas his had the sweep motion second hand, mine had the faint tick ( you had to look close) The funny thing was. Mine kept spot on time and his was all over the place. He took it back to the shop many times and the shop keeper just said " what do you expect, it's a Rolex "

I use industrial freezer boots for winter riding, never had cool or wet feet.

terryvanman wrote:I bought a fake Rolex in Singapore many years ago. It cost me £12. A mate of mine had the genuine article and to be honest from a few feet away you really couldn't tell the difference .

And these days, some of the fakes are indistinguishable even by experts close up. Sadly e-bay is full of them being advertised as genuine.....

terryvanman wrote:I bought a fake Rolex in Singapore many years ago. It cost me £12. A mate of mine had the genuine article and to be honest from a few feet away you really couldn't tell the difference .
Whereas his had the sweep motion second hand, mine had the faint tick ( you had to look close) The funny thing was. Mine kept spot on time and his was all over the place. He took it back to the shop many times and the shop keeper just said " what do you expect, it's a Rolex "

Some years ago a friend of mine who was a builder did some work for a company that went broke. As part of the creditor settlement he got the MD's Rolex. It was very smart and kept good time, but after a few years it started to loose. So my friend took it to the main Rolex showroom in London to get a full factory service. The guy behind the counter took one look at it, pronounced its a fake and produced a hammer and smashed it.